Know thy Enemy
by JimdeGriz
Summary: Know thy Enemy, know thy self. Simple principles, much harder to apply in reality. Caught up in the middle of the Clan Invasion the mercenary company 'Gibson's Commandos' finds itself fighting an enemy they do not understand while internal problems threaten to destroy them from the inside. They must either learn of their enemy and of themselves, or destruction surely awaits them.
1. Prologue

"If you do not know others and do not know yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle": Sun Tzu

The dropship's desk shuttered under his feet as Lieutenant Kyle Howard made his way to his commander's cabin. He hadn't taken the time to change, he still wore his sweet stained mechwarrior suit, cooling vest and all. Reaching Major Gibson's door, he reached up to knock and then hesitated.

The door slid open as Captain Max Rivers exited the cabin. Surprised to see Kyle he waited for the door to close before speaking.

"Are you ok?" Max asked genuinely concerned, the big tall Skyeman looked about ready to break into tears.

Kyle nodded. "Is the boss ok…. does he know?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes." Max replied to both. "You don't need to do this in person, no one blames you."

"I need to." Kyle responded quietly.

Max nodded sadly and stepped out of Kyle's way. Kyle took a deep breath, hit the opening button and stepped through the hatch.

"Boss…Gibson…I…" Kyles choked as the words he's practiced since the hanger bay deserted him. Major Samuel Gibson had been propped up in his bunk, his right arm in a cast. Seeing his friends distress he swung his feet over the edge and on uncertain legs made his way over to him, then to the younger man's surprise, he embraced him.

"There is nothing to forgive." Gibson said, his voice tightly controlled as he fought back the waves of emotion threatening to overwhelm him. "I sent you because if you couldn't save her no one could." He held Kyle at arm's length so he could look him in the eye. "You didn't kill Cara, the Clanners did. You did not let me down, we were overwhelmed. Next time we will have our revenge."

Kyle nodded, determination starting to mask his other emotions. "I won't let you down Gibson."

"I know you won't. Go see to your lance, they need their leader." Gibson instructed as much as ordered. Kyle nodded again, not yet trusting his voice to respond he saluted instead and left leaving Gibson alone with his thoughts again. Ridderkerk has been a disaster, the 1st Lyran Regulars had collapsed in the face of Clan Wolf's assault and Gibson's attached mercenary regiment had not been spared the consequences. 6 mechs lost, more crippled, 56 KIA or MIA, most of the company wounded including himself. His wife was among the missing presumed dead, Cara had been evacuating the wounded from Canton Down's Hospital, typically of her she had insisted on being the last out and when the convoy was overrun her APC had burnt.

Grief threatened to overwhelm him as he replayed the events in his head, but he forced the memory down. He wanted to mourn, to lie down and cry his eyes out, but there would be time for that later, in the meantime he had work to do.


	2. Chapter 1

Planet Dell: The Drop

Lieutenant Nicholas 'Nick' Shadowsword controlled his breathing as the techs sealed up his mech's drop cocoon. This would be his first live drop and he already hated the claustrophobic feeling of being sealed up inside the cocoon, felt like being sealed in a coffin.

He felt the G force rise as the Warspite rapidly deaccelerated as she skimmed the surface of Planet Dell's atmosphere. Nick's hands felt heavy on the controls as 2.5G's pushed his body down into his command chair, the cocoon rumbled noticeably as the dropship's great engines slowed her down enough to make the drop, while still retaining enough momentum to escape Clan Wolf's aerospace fighters.

The acceleration stopped and suddenly Nick was thrown into weightlessness. His restraints held him down, but still he enjoyed the brief sensation until the planet's gravity started to reassert its dominance. The cocoon shuddered as the air thickened and the outside of the cocoon began to heat up, slowly ablating in order to protect the pilot and mech contained within from the hellish temperatures outside. It was all Nick could do to keep his breathing steady, if something went wrong now he probably wouldn't live long enough to know what had happened. The buffering eased off and then he felt the retro rockets kick in. The cockpit altimeter counted down to 300m and Nick found himself bathed in light and the cocoon's wall peeled away, exposing his mech to the world.

The bolt on retrorockets kept his decent manageable as his Wolverine fell with all the grace a 55ton walking tank could manage. Around him the other 5 members of Stalker Force descending on their own columns of fire, far above them the other four lances of Gibson's Commandos would still be descending in their cocoons.

'20m, 15m, 10m, 5m' Nick's altimeter counted down, he pressed down on his mech's foot pedals, adding his own jump jets to bring his speed down to something survivable as he impacted the ground with a thud. He flicked the transmit switch on his radio. "Shadow Leader to lance, status."

"Shadow 2, aye."

"Shadow 3, ready."

"Form on me and move out." Nick got his mech into motion as the Shadowhawk and Dervish fell in behind him. "Shadow Leader to Stalker Leader we are on the move."

"Roger that. Shadow Leader." Lieutenant Kyle Howard replied. "Watch my flank I'm going in."

Activating his jump jets again, Nick cleared the hill in front of him, his lance following closely. His HUD read 3km to their target, a number that shrank noticeable by the minute as he pushed his mech to its maximum speed. He strained his eyes as he scanned each approaching wood line before vaulting it with his jump jets. Somewhere ahead the remnants of the 24th Arcturan Guards were fighting for their lives, their comrades ambushed and slaughtered by Clan Wolf, those that were left were being slowly hunted down and exterminated by roving groups of Omnimechs.

"Contact!" Kyle shouted down the radio, excitement clear in his voice. Stalker Lance had broken through a tree line to find an Adder and Stormcrow cresting the hill directly in front of them. "My lance, form line and close to 330m." Kyle ordered as he licked his lips in anticipation, his lance mates, a Griffin and Valkyrie, spread out beside Kyle's Wolverine as they advanced at a run towards their enemy. The Stormcrow fired first, ER Large Lasers carving chunks out of Kyle's armour.

"Christ he's accurate...keep your speed up." Kyle ordered as his lance returned fire, PPC bolts and LRMs streaked across the divide to limited effect. Continuing to take accurate fire, Kyle's lance veered off to the left, trying to keep the advancing Clan mechs within the effective range of their weaponry without allowing their enemy to close the gap. The Stormcrow continued to concentrate on Kyle, slowing to a near halt to improve the accuracy of its fire as it fired volley after volley of laser fire into the Wolverine. The Adder's pilot was more aggressive, heading straight for the Stalker 3's Valkyrie, the pilot carefully picked his moment before firing, the twin ER PPC bolts struck true, punching the Valkyrie clean off its feet.

"Hold on Alan, we're coming." Kyle shouted as he dragged his mech round to go to his fallen comrade's aid. He didn't make it, as Alan's mech struggled to its feet the Adder fired again. The Valkyrie seemed to fly apart as the man made lighting tore through the centre of its torso, destroying the engine.

Kyle swore as laser fire melted more of his mechs armour. "George fall back into the trees. Nick we need a hand, got a Puma and a Ryoken right on my tail."

"On our way." Nick had already been move up in support before he got the call for help. 'Adder and Stormcrow', he mentally corrected Kyle's report, 'we have to start using the right names if we're going to figure this enemy out.' A quick glance at the HUD and then he radioed Kyle again.

"Stalker Leader, do you know what a Thach Weave is?"

"Yes." Kyle replied, he and George had taken more damage getting into the woods but it had brought them some brief respite from the deadly accurate fire. "We're on it, George stay close."

The Adder broke through the woods first, moving quickly and confidently it chased after the fleeing survivors of Stalker Lance. Somewhat further back the Stormcrow moved more cautiously, hanging back to fire at the edge of its weaponry's range. Desperately trying to throw off the Clan pilots aim Kyle threw his mech through a series of tight turns while counter rotating his mechs torso to keep his weapon arm on target. He and George concentrated fire on the Adder, slowly wearing down the light mechs armour, but not fast enough, with its superior weaponry and better marksmanship it was winning the firefight even with only limited support from the Stormcrow. "Any time now Shadow Leader."

"Nearly there." Nick pushed his mech to the limit as he ran towards the hill currently keeping him hidden from the Clan mechs. "Now or never, Shadow Lance follow me."

The three mechs fired their jump jets near simultaneously, vaulting the obstacle in a single bound. Still airborne, Nick fired the moment the Adder came into view, his PPC bolt kicking up dirt as it landed shot, striking the ground at the Adder's feet. His lance mates added their fire, PPC fire and flights of LRMs arcing towards their target scoring multiple hits. Landing heavily without an audible crunch the trio continued their mad dash towards the Adder, firing as they closed. The Adder stumbled under the repeated weapon impacts, abandoning its pursuit of Stalker Lance it turned to track the swiftly moving mechs of Shadow Lance as they passed behind it. Returning fire with its ER PPCs, it scored numerous hits on Shadow 3's Dervish, blasting chucks of armour from the mechs arms and legs. Far to the rear, the Stormcrow tried to close the distance and provide covering fire, but too slowly. Even as Shadow Lance broke for cover, Stalker lance peeled off to the left swinging behind the Adder. Keeping the range open, George fired first, a PPC bolt and flight of LRMs hammered into the rear of the Adder, slagging armour and jamming its right arm. Kyle was more direct, sprinting straight for the enemy mech, he slammed his Wolverine bodily into the Adder. The impact threw the Adder onto its side, its severed left leg spinning away into the dirt. Shouting in elation, Kyle lined up the finishing shot, destroying the mech with a final volley of SRMs and medium laser fire even as the pilot ejected.

"One down!" Kyle celebrated over the radio as he made for cover, harried from a discrete distance by the Stormcrow. "Now let's get the last one!"

"Negative." Nick replied firmly. "The rest of the star will be here soon. Fall back to the heavies, let them handle the next phase."

"But…" Kyle started to complain as he jumped into the cover of a wood block before glancing at his HUD, almost all his armour showed red if not black, indicating an armour breach. "Roger Shadow Leader, Stalker 2, follow me we're falling back."


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Charge of the Heavy Brigade

"Understood Shadow Leader." Major Samuel Gibson worked hard at sounding professional over the radio as he clamped down on his impatience to get into action. His heart hammered in his chest and he could feel a physical need to get to grips with his foe that went beyond the usual excitement he felt before battle. It was taking all his self-discipline not to charge forwards straight into the midst of the enemy. He took a deep breath and forced his voice to remain steady before transmitting again.

"Sword and Rider lance will form line on me. Enemy at star strength, 2km and closing. Advance and destroy, on me." He ordered in short tense bursts. Pushing forward on the throttle he brought his black liveried Battlemaster up to a measured walking pace, beside him Rider Lance kept a tight formation while a short distance away to his left Lieutenant Melissa Rivers led Sword Lance in her Awesome.

"Sam, you ok?" Captain Max Rivers used a laser link to communicate with Gibson, concern obvious in his voice.

"Not particularly." Gibson replied, grateful that his friend had used a private channel. "Look if I do anything stupid you take over, get the rest out."

"It won't come to that." Max replied evenly. "You'll be fine, we'll be fine."

Gibson wasn't so sure, even as he continued the advance he could feel his control slipping away moment by moment. He barely noticed as the battered remains of Stalker Lance retired behind his command or as Eagle and Hawk Lance landed to his rear and moved up in support.

"Rider Leader, this is Stalker Leader. Shadow Lance is skirmishing on the otherside of the woodblock, 1x Ryoken, 1x Uller." Kyle radioed. If Gibson noticed he gave no response, it was left to Melissa to acknowledge the signal.

"Sir, are you alright?" She tried to raise Gibson via a laser line, getting no response she switched to her husband. "Max is he alright?"

"Not sure." Max replied, sounding somewhat guilty.

"We need to pull back or you need to take over." Melissa responded forcefully.

"No time." Max sounded resigned as the line of heavy mechs entered the wood passing through the skirmish line of Shadow Lance.

"3x enemy, Stormcrow Prime, Viper B, Kit Fox A, 600m, wood line, withdrawing." Nick rattled off his contact report as the heavies passed him by, his lance had got the worst of the skirmish, but had at least maintained contact with the enemy.

"Roger." Melissa responded, internally she fumed with frustration sensing the danger they were in with an unresponsive commander. Ahead the Clan mechs had withdrawn deeper into the woods, out of sight. The Commandos continued their steady advance across the open ground and Melissa's sense of unease only deepened at the lack of enemy response. "Where are they?" she lasered across to Max just before the world lit up. The remaining 9 mechs of the Clan Wolf Binary step forward as one, having waited for the Commandos to enter their killing ground a mere 180m away, before opening fire. Melissa cursed out loud as a Gauss Rifle slug tore in her mechs right arm. Returning fire, she flicked on the radio. "All points, fall back, repeat fall back."

To Gibson the first shot was like a veil lifting before his eyes, all his doubts and fears fled leaving behind cold fury and an intense determination to defeat the enemy before him. Instinctively he recognised the trap, that the heavy lances would be cut to pieces trying to retreat across the open ground and that left only one option for survival, for victory.

"No! Commandos, follow me, advance!" He shouted across the radio as he pushed his mechs throttle wide open. He briefly heard Melissa swear across the net, he paid no attention. "Eagle, Hawk, flank right, now." He ordered the light lances up in support as he singled out a Mad Dog as his target. Bringing up his PPC arm he fired one blast before activating the release mechanism, freeing up the battle fist for close combat. Behind him the rest of the demi company swept forward, the impetuous charge catching the Clan mechwarriors off guard. To his right, Max's Thunderbolt smashed into a Kit Fox, neatly severing its right leg with a well-placed kick, to his left Melissa led Sword Lance right into the midst of the enemy line, matching them volley for volley. Ignoring repeated laser impacts, Gibson closed on the Mad Dog, firing lasers and SRMs as he did so. The enemy pilot tried to pull back to open the range, but the tight terrain of the wood hamstrung him as Gibson relentlessly advanced. Raking his enemy with weapons fire, Gibson struck out with his mech's fists, pounding on the Mad Dog's chest as it was rocked by the impact of his SRMs. Again and again he lashed out, until finally his right fist penetrated the protective armour over his enemy's right torso. A blinding flash illuminated their corner of the battlefield as the Mad Dog's LRM ammo ignited, throwing it to the side. To Gibson's shock, the Mad Dog tried to struggle to its feet. He growled as he kicked the fallen mech, fatally damaging its reactor and putting it out of action for good.

Gibson scanned for another target as quickly checked the progress of his troops. Sword 2's Thunderbolt was down as was Eagle 3's Javelin while another 4 of his mechs were badly damaged. But, the Clan Mechwarriors were in full retreat, leaving 3 of their number behind in the woods.

"We've got them now, after them!" Someone shouted over the radio net.

"This is Rider Leader, hold you position!" Gibson shouted the order across the radio. The Clan mechs were all lighter and faster than his own, a reckless pursuit would leave them open to another ambush. "Form on my mech, we're going for the Arcturanians. Eagle Lance lead the way."


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Divided Loyalties

Gibson felt numb as he went through his mechs shutdown checklist and settled her back into her mech cubicle. The mission had gone better than it might, he'd lost 5 mechs, but gained 7 from the Arcturan Guard along with a mixed company of Bulldogs and Hunters from a mercenary outfit, assuming they all chose to join his unit. Better than that they had managed to destroy 5 of the attacking clan mechs, one of the kills his alone. He knew he should feel elated, but he felt nothing.

Slowly he climbed out of the cockpit and handed over his neurohelmet to the technician without a word, almost moving in a daze. Nearby, Max carefully extracted himself from a huddle of mechwarriors and moved to his side. "Careful Sam, let's get you back to your cabin."

He discretely guided his unresponsive friend out of the mechbay, out of the dropships working areas and back to his cabin. Lost for anything else to talk about he slowly ran Gibson through his observations, how the battle had gone, what had worked, what had not, who had excelled and who had not. He sat Gibson down at his desk, dismayed at the empty way he stared at the bulkhead, barely responding to what he was being told. The door slid open and Melissa stepped through.

"Love, now is not the time." Max half pleaded as he saw the anger written across his wife's face.

"Like hell it isn't." Melissa snapped. She was going to continue when the sound of Gibson's fist impacting the desk caused them to both jump.

"Speak your piece Lieutenant." He said in a tightly controlled voice as he met her eyes. Melissa could see the barely contained fury in his eyes, it almost gave her pause for thought…almost.

"You almost got us all killed there Gibson. I need to know one thing, did you order that charge because it was the right call, or because your trying to get yourself killed?"

"It was the only way to win." Gibson replied bluntly holding her gaze for a moment before continuing. "But you are right, I endangered the company today, I could have gotten everyone killed." He held up a hand to pre-empt Max's protest. "There is no excuse and I need someone who is willing to call me out on it, willing to override me, willing to relieve me if that is what is need. With Evans dead I need a second in command, jobs yours if you want it."

Melissa stopped to think for a moment, this hadn't been how she expected this conversation to go. "Two conditions sir." She replied, Gibson simply nodded. "First, you talk to your son and daughter, they need their father as much as they hate to admit it." She ignored the loud intake of breath from her husband as Gibson glared at her, but Melissa wasn't about to flinch now. "Second, you start acting like the indestructible half mad bastard half this company thinks you are. Do what it takes to keep us winning, do what it takes to keep us alive."

Gibson glared at Melissa for a dozen heart beats before replying. "Agreed. Captain. Dismissed."

Melissa didn't smile, she didn't feel very much like smiling, but she came smartly to attention and saluted, before turning on her heel and leaving the cabin.

Max turned to speak, but Gibson stopped him. "Go check on the company." He moderated his tone somewhat, though the strain was still audible in his voice. "I'll live, but the troops need an officer out there fit to look after them. I want all the officers assembled in the briefing room in an hour for lessons learnt, we're not done here yet."

Max nodded, unable to find his voice, he brought himself to attention, saluted and left the cabin, closing the door behind him. Melissa was waiting for him. They walked in silence until they were out of earshot.

"He's not ok is he?" She asked.

"No he's not." Max replied sadly. "I don't know, he might recover, there still sparks of him in there. But, he's not dealing with the pain, he's just masking it and I think that's taking everything he's got at times."

"You were ranking; you should have stepped in back there." Melissa pressed the point, still annoyed.

"Yes I should have. Sorry." Max replied. "That why I told Sam to promote you."

"You what." Melissa rounded on him.

"I'm too close, when push came to shove I couldn't tell my best mate he was relieved of command, when I should have. You can and if push comes to shove I think you will." Max continued.

"Besides." He said, perking up a bit with a hint of a smile. "You'd do a much better job of leading the second company than I would have."

Melissa wanted to be annoyed at her husband's attempt to manoeuvre her, but it was true that she hadn't been satisfied with a mere lance command and had wanted her own company from before she joined the Commandos. She tried to maintain an angry façade but a slight half smile gave her away.

"You'll pay for that later."

"Oh I hope so." Max relied playfully.

"I should relieve him now, give him some time to recover without the stress of command." Melissa continued thoughtfully.

Max grimaced. "I see what you're getting at, but it would break the company apart. We had a lot of divided loyalties before we started, Steiners, Davions, allsorts, and that was before we started absorbing stragglers from other commands. The only thing keeping a lot of the troops here is personal loyalty to Sam. If a Marik tried to remove him from command, I'm afraid we might have a mutiny on our hands."

Melissa scowled, she hated Max's logic, but could see what he was getting at.

"Look at it this way. In the short term, the command team will cover for him as best we can and hope he gets better. Meanwhile you'll be building up your credit with the troops so if you have to take over, they will know you well enough to follow you, heritage be damned."

"Ok." Melissa replied nodding her head. "I can work with that." As they continued walking down the corridor towards the mechbay, their conversation turned to the days ahead and the work to be done. However, as they drew closer to the mechbay they became aware of a reverberating roaring sound coming down the passageway.

"Does that sound like a…." Max started.

"A riot, yes it does." Melissa was already running down the corridor as she replied. Rounding the corner, to her horror, she could see what looked like the best part of the mercenary company engaged in a mass brawl in the middle of the mechbay. There didn't seem to be two sides, rather multiple groups fought and shoved and shouted at each other.

"Idiotic Davion warmongers, you'd see us all dead for your bloody honour."

"Don't call me a Davion, I'm a damn Logandaler!"

"If you Steiner cowards could fight we wouldn't be in this mess."

Melissa stopped and stared for a moment. "Oh as if we don't have enough problems at the minute." She complained to no one in particular before diving into the middle of the riot trying to separate the combatants. "Break it up, break it up!" Max paused a moment to get off a quick message through the intercom before joining her. The riot swallowed them up as soldiers and mercenaries from across the Inner Sphere split along house and homeworld lines, each blaming the others for their current situation. An Arcturan shoved Max from behind. "Marik traitor." Someone shouted. He tried to turn round to remonstrate only for a Commando tech to grab his arm and pull him deeper into the riot. A flying leg tripped him and he fell with a cry, looking up he saw a big combat boot coming right for his face.

"Idiot, he's one of ours!" Kyle shouted as he forced his way over to Max and hauled him to his feet.

"Kyle!" Max shouted over the noise. "What the hell is going on."

"No idea, couple of the mercenaries started to scrap with the Arcturans and then it all went to hell." Kyle replied.

The wailing of a siren cut across the commotion. Loud enough in the confined space to hurt their ears, it stopped the rioters dead as they covered their ears and turned to stare at the source of the noise.

"Enough!" Gibson shouted from high above on the gantry level. It had not been easy to drag himself out of his malaise, but the urgency in Max's voice had spurred him into action. Now as he surveyed the rioters he felt his blood boil, but that was ok, anger was the one emotion he could still process. Swinging over the safety rail he slid down scaffolding leg and strode towards the gathered crowd. A few looked defiant, most looked embarrassed, no-one were willing to meet his eye as the crowd parted to allow their beyond furious commander through.

"Let me make this very clear. There are no Davions on this ship. There are no Steiners, no Mariks, no Regulars, no Arcturan's, no Longdalers, no nothing. You are either a Commando, or you are not!" He glared at the crowd daring anyone to contradict him. "Now if you want to fight in my outfit, then you are a Commando and you will fight, eat, drink, sleep and if needs be die as a Commando and I will hear not more of bullshit! If that is not acceptable to you, then you are not welcome in my outfit and you will be a passenger, in which case you will go to your cabin and stay there until such time as I decide to send you home." He paused for effect. "Captain Melissa Rivers!"

Melissa snatched her sleeve from the grasp of a bulk technician, she was splattered with blood, mostly other peoples. She snapped to attention. "Sir!"

"I want this mess cleaned up and all officers in the briefing room in an hour. I want my battalion ready for action in four!" he waited for that news to sink in. "Make no mistake we are going back out there; we are not done here. If you have a problem with that, there is the door. Get the hell off my ship. Captain, carry on!"

He turned to leave, a look of pure fury fixed on his face as a challenge to anyone who might stop him. He waited until he could no longer Melissa's shouted orders, or the NCOs relaying those orders, until he was well out of sight before relaxing a little, a very slight smile crossing his lips for the first time in a month. That had been cardiogenic, it had let a little pressure off, allowed him to think a little clearer. But, the smile faded, replaced with cold determination, it was one thing to tell a disparate group to stick together, he now needed to give them a reason to stick together. They would need a clear cut victory and soon.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Better than no plan

"In short we have two key lessons. Firstly, we are horribly outgunned, so our best bet is to get up close and engage hand to hand with at least a 2 to 1 advantage in numbers. Secondly, we have to forget everything we were taught about fighting Clan Jade Falcon. We are facing Clan Wolf and they behave differently. I don't want to overplay the animal analogy, but they do act very much like a wolf pack, cunning, careful and lethal." Nick slipped his notes into his pocket. "Sirs. Ma'ams, thank you for listening, any questions.

Max lent back in his chair as the command group began asking questions of the young lieutenant. As the Intelligence Officer, it should have been Max giving the intel brief, but given that an awful lot of the points being presented were drawn from Nick's own observations it seemed only right to let the junior officer show off his work. It would be good experience for him anyway. Max looked around the room, it occurred to him how empty the briefing room was becoming. Before Ridderkerk the command team had been 10 strong, now there were only 7 of them. He let the questioning continue for a while before reasserting his right to chair the meeting.

"Thank you Nick, that will do for questions for the time being. Print outs of the full report will be distributed late." Nick took his seat as Max took his place at the podium. He flicked a switch and the projected slide changed to an aerial shot of a factory unit deep in the mountains.

"This is Halfata Refinery. It is the primarily hydrogen refinery and storage facility on the planet. Critically it is connected by pipeline to Dell's space port which only keeps a minimum reserve of fuel on site. If we destroy this facility it will prevent Clan Wolf using the space port as a refuelling point and potentially force a pause while they bring up supplies from other worlds."

"It will also cause a nice morale boasting explosion." Kyle cut in excitedly.

"That wouldn't hurt at the minute." Melissa added thoughtfully as she studied the aerial picture. "Only one way in and out, I assume that pass is guarded?"

"Almost certainly." Max replied. "Fortunately, we have a plan. Boss?"

Gibson stood up and replaced Max at the podium. "A frontal assault is out of the question. Roughly half our mechs are out of action awaiting repairs, taking on a single star would be a risky endeavour at this point. Instead Kyle is going to take a reinforced lance through the mountains, bypass the defences and destroy the facility before the Clanners know what's hit them." He smacked the refinery with his pointing stick to emphasis the point.

Kyle looked concerned. "You know me, I'm more than happy to try. But, are we sure I can get mechs up there? Even with jump jets that looks impassable."

"One of the militiamen we've taken in is an amateur mountaineer. He's climbed that region and is convinced there's a path for a Wolverine." Gibson replied. "I've not actually got to the bad bit yet." There was a hit of amusement in his voice and just the slightest evidence of a smile. "The facility is a water cracking one, so it is not self-combusting like an oil refinery and just shooting up the storage tanks will only set them on fire for half an hour or so, without causing serious damaging the rest of the facility. If we're going to make this stick we need to place two charges, one to release the hydrogen from the tanks and the second to set off the explosion. Which means we need boots on the ground so you're going to be cramming infantry into your mech's cockpits."

Kyle paused for a moment and then smiled. "Sounds like my kind of crazy! Well why not, it'll be just like old times." This drew a thin laugh from the assembled officers. "I'll need a picked group for this one, can't be carrying anyone with conscript syndrome."

"Best get a balance of pilots." Melissa interjected. "Make a point of this one-unit business."

"I'll leave division of assets to the pair of you." Gibson replied. "Melissa you're to set up a patrol rota with any mechs and pilots Kyle doesn't need. Move people around and give the newcomers a turn, see how they pilot, we've too many pilots and too few machines to have assigned mechs at the minute."

"That's not going to be popular." Melissa cautioned.

"No it won't. But it will keep people on their toes." Gibson turned the projector off and walked in front of the podium. "We need to keep in mind that we are fighting an enemy who outnumbers us and outguns us. Frankly, in a stand up fight, they outclass us. So to win we're going to have to out think them and downright out crazy them. Anyone who isn't up to the job is to be benched." He looked straight at Melissa. "And I mean anyone." He repeated for emphasis. She nodded, understanding the unspoken message. "Am I understood?"

"Sir." The response came back, loud and with certainty.

"Right, then." Gibson continued. "Nick, Max stay behind I've got a task for you. Kyle tell George he can use the family mech to practice dismounting drillings with the infantry squad. No scratch that send him to me and I'll tell him." He had promised after all he thought to himself. "Everyone else, dismissed."

Fired up, the rest of the command group filled out of the briefing room leaving Max, Nick and Gibson alone.

"Nick, Max tells me that report was almost entirely your own work." Gibson nodded. "That was bloody good work."

"Thank you Sir." Nick replied, beaming.

"I'm pulling the two of you from piloting duties temporarily to form a working group. Grab whoever you need this is priority two after Kyle's mission." Gibson paused, judging the younger man's reaction, he'd already broached the subject with Max and knew he was happy enough with the idea.

Nick couldn't decide if he was disappointed or thrilled at the opportunity. "What are we working on sir?"

"This sort of raiding mission is likely to be our bread and butter for the foreseeable future. But I can't keep bringing the Warspite down as a repair base. She's too big, too obvious. I want a kind of forward repair base, but something much more low key, something that will be hard to spot from the air and something we can disassemble and move quickly if we need to." He watched Nick carefully as he mulled the idea over.

"I've got a few ideas sir." Nick replied at length. "I'll get right on it." He continued as a broad grin spreading over his face.

"Good man." Gibson replied clasping Nick on the shoulder. "Max you happy with all this?"

"I've got the specs Sam. We'll clear out a working space on the infantry deck." Max replied with a smile. "Come on Nick, let's make a start."

Nick and Max departed, leaving Gibson alone in the briefing room. He waited until the door had closed before taking a deep breath, slowly exhaling as he lent on the podium for support, his eyes half closed. He picked up his mug, but to his disappointment found he'd already drunk the tea it normally contained. A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. "Come in."

George stepped through the door, holding two steaming mugs of tea. "Kyle said you wanted to see me." He said, offering one of the mugs. "Thought you might want one of these too."

Gibson regarded his son as he silently took one of the mugs. The problem with being a Mechwarrior was you were often absent from home for prolonged periods. To an extent that had let him be 'fun' dad, the dad who returned home on leave with exotic gifts and tall tales of far off worlds. Later on it had occurred to him that it had also made him absent dad, the dad who missed every truly important moment in both his children's lives. Right now it made him dad with no idea what to say.

"How are you doing?" It sounded lame in his head before he said it.

George was slow to reply. "As well as can be expected I guess." He shrugged noncommittally. "Don't know." He sighed. "Not sure how to feel."

They both stood there awkwardly for a moment. "How's your Sister?"

"I'm not allowed to talk to her, I'm only allowed in the infirmary if I'm injured." George replied with a rueful half smile.

"Better than me then. I have to be seriously injured." Gibson replied. George laughed despite himself and Gibson found himself joining in without quite knowing why.

"Yes that sounds like her." George replied wiping a tear away from his eye. "Anyway Kyle said something about using your Battlemaster for training."

"Yes, the next raid is going to involve infantry dismounted and remounting from mechs in a hurry. As yours in banged up, you can use mine to help them practice." Gibson replied, happy to be back on familiar ground.

"Your letting me pilot her?" George said in surprise.

"Don't scratch her." Gibson admonished.

"Would you be able to tell at the minute?" George replied cheekily.

"Get out of here before I change my mind." Gibson played along for a moment before his tone went back to awkward. "George we should talk more…if you need…" He trailed off as he couldn't find the words he wanted. He unconsciously squared his shoulders, switching back to the familiar ground of formality. "I've been letting my sword skills get rusty lately. Would you mind sparing with me a little later?"

"Sure Dad, after my next patrol." George smiled, reading between the lines without major difficulty. "I'd better get going, see you on the other side."

"Aye." Gibson replied with mixed emotions.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Raid

Gingerly, Kyle fired his Wolverines jump jets, propelling him up the vertical cliff. Landing a 55ton war machine on narrow, snow and ice covered ledge, right on the edge of a precipice was no mean feat and the strain of repeatedly doing so was starting to wear him down. He set his mech down as gentle as he could, setting off a cascade of ice and stones as he did so. He glanced behind him to check that the other 5 mechs of his command were still strung out behind him

"There can't be much more of this surely?" Kyle complained to his passenger.

His passenger looked up from her map. "Just another km." Previously a member of Dell's militia, Cpl Audrey Keldon was starting to regret her decision to suggest this approach. A Wolverine's cockpit was not meant for two people and even though Kyle's had been modified with a jump seat the passenger's comfort had taken a distance second place to the pilots. Scrunched up in the spare seat she was beginning to lose the sensation in her legs. "Why do you even have this seat?"

"Had it fitted in 3043 for a rescue mission on Nestor, never got around to having it removed." Kyle replied. "If we get out of this buy me a beer and I'll tell you the story."

"Worth hearing then?" Audrey asked. "Take the right valley it's easier."

"Oh yes, it has everything, damsels in distress, daring midnight rescues, car chases, mech duels." Kyle replied with an air of exaggeration as he manoeuvred his mech across the broken terrain.

"Of course it does." Audrey replied, not buying any of it. "Jump this one and we're over the worst of it."

"Got it." Kyle fired his jump jets in response, clearing the sheer cliff in front of him. Ahead of him the mountain range opened up and he got his first view of the objective, a large facility split into three areas, a series of administrative blocks, a production facility and a series of storage tanks. He switched on the groups laser comms link. "Objective sighted, we're nearly there."

"Thank goodness for that!" Nicole replied, her Javalin's cockpit had been a tight fit before someone had crammed an infantryman into what little spare room there had been.

"Any enemy forces?" George asked as he started to ascend the cliff in his Griffin.

"Nothing seen." Kyle responded. "Adrian, any on the EM spectrum?"

"Wait out." Adrian's Clint had the best sensors in Kyle's force, but he was bringing up the rear of the formation and would need to crest the cliff before he could use them to their best effect. The rest of the force spread out and made for what cover was available as they waited for Adrian to finish the assent.

"Scanning now, give me a minute." Adrian flicked a few switches and then waited for his mechs computer to detect and catalogue any transmissions. He frowned as he read the readout. "Ah hell, I've got 4 units transmitted on microwave bands. 3 are down in the valley, 1's in facility. Seems they have a lot to talk about."

"Damn." Kyle hadn't meant to say that out loud, he'd been hoping to find the place unguarded. "Right we're still going in. Adrian, Colin, bypass the objective and keep an eye out for their reinforcements, do not engage. George, Robin you're with me, we're going to draw the boggy away from the storage tanks and into the admin area defeat him there. Nicole, you're in reserve, back up our infantry."

"Why am I in reserve." Nicole complained, as far as she was concerned the only pay off for this mission had been the chance of combat at the end of it and she resented being side-lined.

"Because we've lost three Javalins in two battles to date and I don't need to lose a fourth." Kyle replied in annoyance. Truth was he hadn't wanted to bring Nicole's mech along, nor Colin's Stringer. Both classes were proving too vulnerable against the Clans for his taste, but with so much of the battalion out of action there hadn't been much choice in the matter. At least he had no concerns about the pilots.

Taking her lack of response as acceptance Kyle started his mech forwards. "Let's do this. Striker Force, on me!"

With little cover and only open ground to cover, Stalker Force dispensed with subtly and charged full pelt towards their objective. It was all about speed and audacity now, they had to complete their mission and be gone before reinforcements arrived or they were sure to be overrun.

"What about the fifth?" Audrey asked.

"What?" Kyle had to shout to be heard over the noise in the cockpit as his mech pounded its way forwards.

"Only 4 signals, there should be 5." Audrey pointed out.

"I know; I'm betting on it not being here." Kyle replied, dead serious.

"That's a terrible plan." Audrey exclaimed before adding a belated. "Sir."

"I know that too." Kyle replied without taking offense. "But it's the only one I've got. We're here, dismount."

The 6 mechs smashed through the facilities chain link fence and slowed to a halt. Each popped their cockpit and a single infantryman climbed down a rope ladder to the ground below.

Kyle switched to radio, they weren't trying to hide now. "Good luck everyone. See you on the other side." Where had that come from, he wondered. It wasn't something he normally said before battle, it was a Logandaler saying and a fairly morbid one at that with a double meaning. He shook off the train of thought, he didn't have time for that right now, he had a job to do. He moved his mech into the streets between the administrative blocks while George and Robin fanned out in an extended line to his right and left. Their short lance moved slowly, the haphazard layout of the administrative blocks made for a claustrophobic battlefield with numerous dead ends and short lines of sight. Kyle swept his PPC arm across from side to side as he crossed an intersection. "George slow down; you're getting ahead of us." He transmitted. "Robin, close up or call a halt, I'm losing your beacon."

"I've got something." Robin transmitted. "Just been pinged…oh hell." The sound of weapons fire and impacts came clean across the radio. "Gargoyle, it's a bloody Gargoyle."

"Stay calm Robin, we're coming. Evade until we get there." Kyle ordered as he wrenched his mech round, firing his jump jets to clear the block in front of him. "George flank left, I'm going up the middle."

On the other side of the field Audrey felt like a tag along kid as she followed the squad of infantry through the factory floor towards the storage tanks. Whoever was responsible for spreading the one-unit message had obviously skipped the attached infantry. Sgt William 'Bill' Perry had been put in command and he'd handpicked his best men for the job, all original Commandos, most from Logandale. He'd also made it very clear that Audrey was only invited because she was the guide and was otherwise to stay out of the way.

"This door's locked." She heard the scout whisper back. Automatically the squad took up defensive fire positions, their sleek Mars Laser Rifles contrasting to the clunky locally produced autorifle she had been issued with. Audrey took up a position herself, aiming back down the way they had come. The scout slung his rifle and started to get to work with a set of lock picks. Then the lights went out.

"What the hell." Someone exclaimed, right before machine gun fire ripped through the locked door. The scout and his cover man never stood a chance, both were cut down before they could react. The rest threw themselves down and tried to return fire as best they could. They fired blindly through the door for the longest twenty seconds of Audrey's life when, as suddenly as it had started, the machine gun fire stopped, then an armoured fist punched its way through the ruined door.

"Elemental!" Cpl Geoff Sparks shouted a warning to the rest of the squad as the door started to give way. Bill didn't hesitate. "Pull back!" he ordered as he dragged Audrey to her feet, pushing her in front of him as they ran back the way they came. More machine gun fire sounded behind them and another cry of pain as the rear man was cut down. Hearts pounding, they ran through the building, dodging between rows of electrolysis tanks and humming machinery, all the time aware of the pounding footsteps of the all but bullet proof battle armour chasing them.

Audrey reached the door first, wrenching it open she turned to the others. "This way." She shouted only for Bill to shove his daysack with the demolition charges and squad radio into her arms and then push her threw the door.

"What the hell Sergeant?" She exclaimed.

"Go, we'll buy you some time, don't waste it." Bill ordered. "Geoff go right, I'll go left."

"Roger Sergeant." Geoff replied as he loaded his underslung grenade launcher and took off into cover.

"But you don't stand a chance." Audrey responded, appalled.

"We know. See you on the other side corporal." With that Bill slammed the door shut.

Paralysed with shock, Audrey stood there for a moment until the sound of gunfire shook her out of her daze. "Damn them." She swore as she started running down a service road that she hoped led to the storage tanks. She made nearly 300m before the sound of jump jets being fired made her stop. The inhumanly sleek shape of a Clan Elemental leapt down from the roof top, blocking road ahead. Audrey could only look on as it raised its weapons arm to fire.

"Get down!" She heard a female voice transmitted over a loudhailer and instinctively hit the ground as two dozen SRMs rained down on the lone Elemental, destroying it along with much of the street it was standing on. Audrey looked up to see Nicole's Javelin standing on a nearby roof top.

"Don't just stand there." Nicole transmitted again as she fired another volley of missiles over Audrey's head into a squad of Elementals forming up on a nearby roof top. "Get moving! I'll cover you." Picking herself up, Audrey ran as Nicole fired her jump jets, switching positions and drawing the Elementals away from the lone infantrywoman. She fired another volley and gritted her teeth as most of the missiles went wide. 'Damn these things are tough!' she thought to herself as her computer recorded only a single kill for the expenditure of nearly fifty missiles. A number of return SRMs impacted her Javelin as she relocated again. To her surprise a squad of Elementals leapt up from her new vantage point, trying to swarm her mech. "Oh no you don't." she shouted out loud as she lashing out with her mech's right fist, swatting one of the Elementals out of the air before firing her jump jets again to shake off the rest of the squad. To her immense satisfaction she watched the Elemental tumble through the air before smashing into a roof top. Then, to her horror, she saw it stand up and fire its jump jets to re-join its squad. 'Far too tough!'

"Hold on, Robin, nearly there." Kyle almost shouted down the radio as he used his jump jets to vault another building that was blocking his way. He could see that Robin's mech was taking a pounding on his HUD and knew he probably wouldn't last much longer. Behind and to his left George was bringing his Griffin round on a flanking manoeuver. Mere tens of meters away Kyle rounded a corner to see Robin's Dervish firing down a side street, great chucks of armour had been ripped from its chassis while the left arm hung limp and useless by his side. Robin fired off a volley of LRMs and tried to duck back out of sight, but not quick enough, two ER Large Laser bolts tore into the right torso, smashing through the weakened armour and tearing the arm clean off. Robin stumbled, but managed to keep his feet as he moved back into cover.

"Damn glad to see you boss. D model, 200m down that street, he's proper got my number, smashed my mech to bits." Robin radioed to Kyle, pain evident in his voice.

"You've done all you can, get out of here." Kyle replied, adrenalin coursing through his veins. "We've got this. George you in place?"

"20 seconds out." George replied.

"Let's do this then!" Kyle took a few steps back to give him and run up and then threw his Wolverine's throttle wide open. Bursting into the entrance of the side street he fired a blast from his PPC into the advancing Gargoyle then threw his mech through the wall of the building across the street. Laser fire searing the air behind him as his unexpected manoeuvre threw off his enemy's aim.

'180m, I can make that!' Turning his mech round he pushed his way through the collapsing admin block and back onto the street, firing another blast from his PPC as he did so. Return fire from the Gargoyle slashed groves into his armour as he closed the distance, pushing right up to the assault mech's face as he switched to his medium lasers and SRMs, explosions blossomed across the assault mech's torso as Kyle lashed out with his mech's foot. But, the Gargoyle nimbly skipped back, avoiding the blow. As Kyle stumbled, the Gargoyle pulled back, opening up the distance and pounding its lighter opponent with laser fire from its paired ER Large Lasers and trio of Medium Pulse Lasers. Kyle's mech rocked backwards under the repeated impacts as he tried to return fire.

"Armour breach, armour breach." His computer sounded the warning as the last of the armour on his left leg evaporated. Gritting his teeth, Kyle fired his jump jets, landing atop a 2 story admin block as he continued to return fire. The Gargoyle turned to track him, but was rocked in turn by a PPC impact from behind, George's Griffin had finally joined the fight.

"Sorry I'm late Kyle." George radioed as he rapidly closed the distance on the surprised Clan mech.

"Right on!" Kyle shouted as he fired his jump jets again, back down onto the street and face to face with his enemy. The two Commandos pressed their attack closely, surrounding their heavier opponent, trapping him in the street. But the Clan pilot fought back with skill and courage. Turning his mech sideways he split his fire between his attackers, giving neither respite to attack undisturbed, while protecting his weak rear armour. Slowly his heavier weapons load began to take its toll, even though his armour was scored and damaged from numerous weapons impacts he was beginning to gain the upper hand.

The heat in Kyle's cockpit had climbed unacceptably high as he overtaxed his mechs heat sinks to up his rate of fire. He'd switched off the warning alarms, he knew most of his armour was gone, he didn't need reminding every 5 seconds. Suddenly the Gargoyle swung round, bringing all its weapon systems to bear on Kyle's mech. Kyle swore as the alpha strike slammed into him, numerous critical hit warnings filled his HUB. His right knee joint gave way and he stumbled back, falling through a wall as he lost his balance. Kyle's head slammed into the side of his command chair as his mech hit the ground hard, the rest of the building following shortly afterwards burying him in rubble.

"George, make a break for it!" Kyle ordered as he tried to regain his feet. "We're not going to win this one."

"No chance, I'm not leaving you." George shouted as he pressed his attack, fists pounding the upper torso of his much larger opponent, seeking his head. Weapons impacts tore into George's mech, concentrated laser fire ripped off his SRM rack, then destroyed the PPC barrel. The next blast tore into his mechs torso, the heat in his cockpit spiking as his fusion engines shielding was critical damaged. Defiantly, George returned fire with his medium lasers even as he overrode his mech's emergency shut system. The Gargoyle advanced regardless, its arms raised for the final shot.

"Die you bastard, die." Kyle shouted as his mech tore itself free from the rubble and surged to its feet, swinging a steel girder like a club into the side of the Gargoyle. The Clan pilot stumbled back and returned fire, the impacts setting off yet more warnings in Kyle's cockpit. Disregarding them he pressed forwards, swinging his improvised club overhead and smashing it down on the Gargoyle's head, crushing the cockpit.

"Thank the Lord for that." Kyle felt exhausted as the adrenaline started to drain from his body. The girder fell to the ground as it slipped from his mech's grasp. "George you ok?"

"Been better." George complained. "Mech's pretty banged up, but I can make it back. Got the bastard though didn't we." He finished with a wide smile.

"That we did. I think we'll share the kill on that one." Kyle replied with a grin. "Let's get out of here, we're all but done here."

Far to the east, Audrey could hear the on-going battle but had no idea who was winning. To the best of her ability she blotted it out, concentrating on placing the demolition charges against the base of the storage tanks. They were a two phase device. The first, relatively 'cold' would crack the structure of the storage tank, releasing the gas but not initially setting it alight. The second charge would act as an ignitor creating an explosion not dissimilar to a fuel air bomb on a grand scale. As a failsafe it was deliberately large enough to set fire to the storage tank, ensure that as a worst case the tanks themselves would burn even if the facility as a whole survived. That was the theory anyway, the devices themselves were bodge jobs made from spare SRM and LRM warheads, Audrey just hoped they worked at all.

Positioning the last charge, she flicked the activation switch and picked up her radio. "All points, all points, mission is green, repeat mission is green." She rattled off the code phrase for charges set and then took off running. The timer was set for 15 minutes, which was both an eternity and no time at all, especially when pick up was nearly 2km away.

Audrey's lungs burned as we hurtled down the service road through the production facility and towards the RV point. She took a sharp left and then a right as she ran through the maze of service roads. Emerging from an alley way, her blood ran cold as she realised her way was blocked. An injured Elemental, its armour serious damaged in the fight with Nicole, was limping its way down the street towards her. It hadn't seen her yet, but Audrey wasn't in the mood to take chances, she half threw herself through the nearest doorway, bursting into a long hall full of machinery.

She checked her watch and then took off running again. 'I've still got time, I'm good.' She reassured herself as she ran, pounding up a set of stairs towards the fire escape at the end of the building. Lowering her shoulder, she ran straight at the door, but it didn't budge. She tried again, but once more it refused to move. Audrey cursed out loud and lowered her auto rifle, firing three long bursts into the area around the locking mechanism. She tried to open it again, but to no avail. She couldn't believe it; some arse had locked the fire escape. Quickly she scanned the area looking for alternative exits, the windows were barred and too small anyway. She hadn't seen any other doors as she'd ran through, nor any roof access. She checked her watch, only five minutes to go, nowhere near enough time to backtrack all the way to the only door she knew of. Audrey grabbed her radio.

"This is Cpl Keldon, last surviving member of the infantry team. I'm trapped in one of the production buildings and need pick up asap."

For what seemed like a life time the line stayed dead before Kyle responded. "I'm coming for you Audrey. Where are you?"

"I'm not entirely sure." Audrey replied with a calmness she didn't feel.

"Find a window and use a mini flare." Kyle instructed, the sound of jump jets firing could be heard over the radio.

Audrey dug out the mini flares from her pocket. The militia didn't issue them and she'd forgotten she'd been given a set. The container was barely the size of a hip flask and crucially the flares didn't need a flare gun to fire. Using the butt of her rifle, Audrey smashed the glass out of the nearest window and fired a flare though it.

"Ok I saw that." More jump jet sounds came across the radio. "Fire another one."

Audrey put up another flare, watching the red illumination streak up into the sky. She checked her watch, three minutes.

"Nearly there…bloody Elementals." Audrey could hear the weapons fire now as Kyle neared her location. "Ok one more."

Just two minutes to go as Audrey put up another mini-flare.

"I see you, stand well back."

Audrey took cover as a Wolverine's battle fist tore through the fabric of the building, punching an exit hole and providing a bridge at the same time. "Come on then!" Kyle shouted as he popped his mech's hatch. Audrey needed no encouragement, ditching her rifle she cambered up the outstretched mech's arm and dropped down through the hatch.

"Hold on." Kyle shouted as he swung his mech about and started to run for the mountains. The right knee was still giving problems, but it held on as Kyle pushed the Wolverine to its limits. Ahead the rest of the force had already retired beyond the first peak, leaving only Kyle and Audrey in the danger zone. Audrey stared at her watch as it counted down. "We're not going to make it."

"We're gonna make it." Kyle replied through gritted teeth, as much to reassure himself as Audrey.

"We're not going to make it." Audrey repeated anxiously, by her watch there were mere seconds to go.

"Yes...we…are!" Kyle ignited his jump jets, throwing his Wolverine up the slope as the first stage charges went off with a muffled thud. The second stage followed, igniting an almighty explosion, just as Kyle's Wolverine disappeared beneath the ridge.

"Told you we would make it."


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: A reputation to be built.

"You wanted to see me Gibson." Melissa ducked into Gibson's office. She was fresh from a patrol with her helmet under her arm and coolant jacket slung on one shoulder.

"Yes, about the patrol rotas. Good work for the most part, but one problem, I'm not on them." Gibson replied doing his best to sound surprised rather than annoyed.

Melissa weighed up her options and decided for honesty. "I felt you would benefit from a rest."

Gibson felt his body tense and forced himself to relax. 'She is trying to help.' He reminded himself. 'No, she is helping, so be respectful.'

"I appreciate your concern, but we only have 7 functioning mechs, we can't be one down because the pilot is 'tired'." He replied, he tried hard for amicable disagreement, but couldn't quite remove a slight edge from his tone.

"Sir, with respect, you need to rest." Melissa argued.

"What I need to is get out of this office and do the one job I'm actually good at." With effort Gibson moderated his tone and continued. "I can't just sit here and stew, besides the troops need to see their commander out and about as if everything is fine, especially as it is not." He sighed and visibly relaxed. "Look I'm either benched, or on patrol, which is it?"

Melissa hesitated for a moment. "I'll get the rota amended." She said with a frown and turned to leave.

"Melissa."

"Yes?" She halted in the doorway.

"Thank you for being honest."

She offered a very slight half smile. "Anytime."

So it was that two hours later Gibson found himself strapping himself into his Battlemaster. The mood in the mechbay had certainly improved, half an hour ago an immense mushroom cloud had been spotted on the horizon and that meant two things. That Kyle's mission was a success and that they would be leaving soon.

"Systems green. You good Fenwick?"

"Ready." Jenny Fenwick replied over the laser line. The unit was on radio silence at the minute trying to avoid detection, but the lasers were typically safe to use.

"Move out then." Gibson eased his mech out of its cubical and down the Dropship's ramp. Behind him Jenny Fenwick carefully manoeuvred her Locust to follow. The two mechs passed out beyond the infantry outposts and into the rolling hills and forests the Commandos were using to try and hide the Warspite's great bulk. Neither mechwarrior spoke as they began their looping patrol. Gibson recognised the problem, Jenny was one of the new recruits and couldn't be expect to be acclimatised yet. As the ranking officer it was his job to ensure she was integrated into the team and made to feel welcome. Thing was, he couldn't think of anything he wanted to talk about, so he let the silence drag on. In the end Jenny broke the silence first.

"So, I figured there would be more barked orders."

There was a delay before Gibson's confused response. "Why?"

"Well after the hanger bay I kinda figured that was your leadership style. Not sure catatonic is much of an improvement, but it's something I guess."

Gibson nearly laughed, he also felt a growing desire to punch someone. Instead he grit his teeth and forced his brain to think. "Mechwarriors in Guard's units don't talk to senior officers this way. Who are you?"

"Captain Jenny Fenwick, 1st Battalion, Light Company, 24th Arcturan Guards." Jenny replied with more than a hint of pride.

"But that's not what you told Captain Rivers. Why the deception?" Gibson asked.

"Because I wasn't planning on sticking about. Figured I'd fight with you guys just long enough to get off world then re-join my unit." Jenny replied.

"So why tell me now?"

"Well I figure that it's probably going to be a while before I can re-join my unit. I also figure that I'm more likely to survive to re-join my unit if I stick with you guys and we're all more likely to survive if I'm using my skills rather than hiding them. Plus, I noticed you've got no officers in either of your light lances, so I figured you've got an opening."

"You figure a lot." Gibson replied, stuck half way between being impressed and being greatly annoyed. He paused to consider his options carefully before replying. "Ok, after this patrol report to Captain Melissa Rivers, tell her everything you have told me and tell her I think you're a candidate for command of Eagle Lance with temporary oversight of Hawk. If you pass her, jobs yours."

"Thank you Sir." Jenny sounded pleased with herself.

"Don't thank me yet. We've fought in two battles so far and lost a light lance leader in both." Gibson replied grimly.

"Oh." Jenny replied, slightly taken aback as the conversation died out.

The two mismatched mechs continued their patrol in silence. Threading in and out of woodland but going around the hill tops, avoiding becoming silhouetted against the setting sun.

"Sir, I think I've got a contact." Jenny lasered Gibson. "I'm picking up a radar signal, doesn't look like it's one of ours."

"Direction?" Gibson asked.

"1 o'clock, maybe 2000m and closing fast…" her voice tailed off. "Got another signal, same direction, definite fix for a Clan radar system, it's not one of ours for sure. Time to return to the dropship?"

"Yes, it is. Go back at best speed and warn them, don't break radio silence." Gibson ordered.

"Leave you behind?" Jenny replied surprised.

"I'll slow you down too much." Gibson explained.

"I'm not leaving you on your own." Jenny protested, somethings just weren't done in her books and leaving a member of the team behind was one of them.

"If you're going to work for me Captain you will learn there are times to ignore my orders and times to follow them. This is the later, now move!" Gibson replied harshly. There was a noticeable pause.

"Roger Sir. Understood." Jenny's Locust took off at full speed, quickly disappearing from view. Gibson watched her leave before slowly pushing his mech back into a wood block. He wasn't 100% that had been the right call, but if it came to a fight the Locust was going to be a liability. This way he could at least fight unhindered.

Switching off his active radar, but leaving the passive on, he slowly made his way back to the dropship, trying to be as stealthy as an 85ton assault mech could manage. The enemy was close enough now that his sensors could make out at least five distinct emission sources. Gibson's mind raced as he worked through the possibilities. If they continued on their current course they couldn't possibly miss the great bulk of the Warspite and even if they were only a star in strength they would be more than a match for the understrength defenders. Unless they were slowed up, unless someone brought some time for the infantry to get their weapons in place and for the mechwarriors to form a coherent defence. He watched a Hellbringer break cover to his right and sprint off in the same direction as Jenny had, he must have seen her. Gibson swore out loud. 'This is a really stupid plan.' He thought as he flicked his sensors into active mode, lined up the shot with his PPC and fired, blowing a chunk of armour off the Hellbringer's right arm.

"I am Major Samuel Gibson, commanding officer of Gibson's Commandos. I challenge you."

The Hellbringer slowed and turned to consider its challenger. The pilot was under no obligation to accept the duel. His orders were to find the enemy dropship, not get into fights with a mech 20tons heavier than his own. Yet, how many Inner Sphere pilots had been willing to fight duels?

"I am Star Commander Carter of the 4th Wolf Guards; I accept your challenge to a duel of warriors. In this solemn matter let no one interfere."

Instantly the Hellbringer surged forwards, its sudden movement throwing off Gibson's aim, his next shot landing behind its fleet target. Carter returned fire even as Gibson slunk deeper into the woods. The first ER PPC bolt exploded a tree to his right, but the second struck true, blue lightning enveloped the Battlemaster's left torso as a great chunk of armour was blown away. Gibson grit his teeth, half snarling as he fired again, striking the Hellbringers chest, then seconds later using his jump jets to leap sideways as his enemy's return fire slashed through the foliage. The Hellbringer kept its speed up, dodging from cover to cover as the duel turned into a running battle, each pilot ducking out of cover just long enough to fire before quickly return to cover to avoid the return fire while their PPCs recharged. The duel had attracted an audience, three of Carter's star had gathered to watch their commander duel with the enemy commander. Another strike threw Gibson about in his harness as the impact from the twin ER PPCs threatened to knock his mech off its feet. While he'd started the duel with nearly twice the armour, he had only a third of the long range firepower and most locations were showing yellow damage warnings now. He returned fire and was rewarded by a series of sparks as his PPC found a weak spot in his opponent's right arm, locking the shoulder and elbow actuators and rendering that arm's ERPPC nearly useless. Regardless, the Hellbringer kept firing, a ER PPC blast stripped more armour off the Battlemaster's left leg while Carter closed the range to bring his ER Medium Lasers and SSRM6 into play. Recognising the opportunity Gibson started to back up, encouraging Carter to pursue, he rode the damage as the Hellbringer's more powerful weapons fit stripped off armour by the ton. He let Carter over commit and then threw his mech into full forward, even giving a touch of jump jets to halt his rearward momentum. Too late Carter realised his mistake and tried to back up, but Gibson's Battlemaster was already bearing down on him. Medium lasers and SRMs pounded the Hellbringer's already weakened armour, wreaking havoc in its internals. Carter turned his mech and tried to extend the range, but Gibson was already within melee range. He kicked out, the Battlemaster's right foot smashing into the Hellbringer's already weakened leg armour, bending the left knee joint back and causing the Hellbringer to stumble. Carter didn't flinch, he kept firing right up until the Battlemaster's fist crashed into his mech's head, knocking him unconscious and the Hellbringer to the ground.

Gibson controlled his breathing, his mech was hunched over his fallen opponent like a boxer that had just landed a knockout blow. He straightened up and faced his audience, before addressing them.

"Who's next." He demanded contemptuously.

The heaviest standing Clan mech, a Nova, didn't hesitate.

"I am Dresden of the Fourth Wolf Guards, I challenge you to a duel of warriors, let no…" A PPC blast interrupted the mechwarrior's speech as Gibson impatiently opened fire.

"Less talking, more dying." Gibson taunted his opponent as he tried to close the range. Furious as he was, Dresden was having nothing of it. He knew he had a handsome firepower advantage at range and with the Battlemaster's armour already worn down he fully intended to take advantage of that fact. Changing tact, Gibson took off at a right angle, extending the range rather than trying to shrink it. Caught off guard, Dresden was briefly outside his weapons range while still taking PPC fire.

"Dezgra coward, come back here and fight." Dresden cursed Gibson as he turned his mech to chase Gibson's Battlemaster as it ran towards a series of woodblocks.

"What's wrong Clanner. Scared of the dark?" Gibson retorted as he dodged between stands of trees. Dresden wasn't to know that this area was full of small but very thick wood blocks that cut line of sight down to 200m at best. Gibson knew, previous patrols had reported on it as an ideal place for close quarters fighters, fighters like Gibson. Carefully not to break line of sight, Gibson drew Dresden in closer, forcing him into a knife fight where the only way to extend the range would be a dishonourable retreat. The two mechs exchanged volleys at nearly point blank range as Dresden carefully kept himself just out of reach of Gibson's fists. His superior firepower started to take effect as Gibson's already weakened armour started to give way. The heat in the Battlemaster's cockpit steadily rose as the damage accumulated, already the right arm was locked at 45degrees by a damage shoulder joint, the PPC effectively useless, then one of the medium lasers went black on the HUD, torn out by the Nova's laser fire. Gibson gritted his teeth and rode the fire as he traded volleys. Slowly the Nova's armour was being worn down as well. He knew he just needed to hold on a little longer. There was a sickening crunch as the Battlemaster's left knee took a direct hit. The joint held for a moment and then gave way, causing Gibson's mech to crash to the floor. In triumph, Dresden drew closer to fire the killing salvo, the audience closed in to witness the kill. Laser fire played over the Battlemaster as it propped itself up on its good arm and fire a defiant volley. The medium lasers stripped off the last of the Nova's torso armour and one of the SRMs bit deeply, damaging Dresden's gyro. Off balance the Nova tumbled to the ground as Gibson fought with his controls to drag his Battlemaster back to his feet. Loaming over the fallen Nova he fired another volley before smashing his mech's good leg through the centre of the Nova's torso. Gibson stumbled as he put all his weight on his mechs damaged leg, but somehow managed to stay upright. He slowly turned to the two remaining Clan mechs.

"Next." He said simply.

The two remaining clan mechs turned slightly to face each other, almost as if deliberating. Finally, the Ice Ferret stepped forwards.

"You have fought bravely, but your mech cannot continue the fight. We offer you Hegira, free withdraw from the field."

A quick glance at Gibson's HUD would have shown him that he had almost no armour left, half his weapons were disabled and numerous internal systems were damaged. Gibson didn't even look, totally focused on the fight at hand, any concerns or second thoughts hidden behind a haze of pain and anger.

"I didn't come here to run from a fight." He half snarled as he tried to bring his PPC up to force the matter. Try as he might, the locked shoulder joint wouldn't let it rotate enough to bring it into a firing position.

"None the less, we will not fight you. Our star mate has completed our mission and there is no honour to be gained in destroying a crippled mech. I am Seong Vickers of Clan Wolf; I hope to see you on the field of battle in the future." With that the two remaining Clan mechwarriors turned and left.

Gibson felt infuriated, robbed and also very tired. It was several minutes before the rest of the company found him as he stood amongst the devastation caused by his duel with the Nova. A slightly mischievous smile crossed his face as he responded to their hails with the first thing that popped into his head.

"Your late, parties already over."


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Farewell to Dell

The noise in the mechbay was almost unbearable as personal lined the railing to cheer the returning warriors. Both Gibson and Kyle had returned at roughly the same time and the good news starved company had taken the opportunity to celebrate their first undisputed victories. Gibson tried to smile as he forced his way through the crowd, shaking hands and swapping well wishes as he tried to hide the pain his burnt right arm was causing him. Melissa forced her way over to him, signalling her lance to spread out and create some space.

"I have no idea if I'm supposed to bench you or recommend you for a medal after that." Melissa said, half-jokingly.

"Just buy me a beer in the mess, safest for your sanity." Gibson shot back with a smile, a slightly forced smile, but a smile none the less.

"Don't worry, he does this all the time." Max shouted as he pushed his way over to the group. "Good to have you back Sam." He said as he clasped his friend on the shoulder. Gibson winced.

"Infirmary?" Max asked.

"Infirmary." Gibson replied simply.

Max and Melissa started to clear a path when they were intercepted by Kyle's party.

"You just had to upstage me!" Kyle complained in mock anger. "We bring down a Gargoyle and you go and pick a fight with an entire star just to show us up!" He broke out in a massive smile. "Must have been a hell of a fight, I can't wait to hear the story."

Gibson paused for a second taken aback and then threw his head back and laughed. "I want to hear your story, that was the biggest explosion I've ever seen."

Kyle beamed. "You think it was big from here, I was stood in the middle of it!"

"Infirmary first, mess stories latter." Max interjected firmly as he steered the group out of the hanger. "Love, can you take over here?"

"Of course I can." Melissa replied with mock indignation. She climbed up onto the salvaged wreak of the Hellbringer, put her fingers in her mouth and let out a long piecing whistle. Eventually the crowd settled down to listen to her. Melissa tried to put a stern face on, but the party atmosphere was infectious and she couldn't quite manage it, so she went the other way and put on her best parody sergeant major voice instead.

"Right then you horrible lot!"

The cheering and laughter picked up again, she waited for it to subside.

"No-one told you to stop working. Get your stuff stowed, we are leaving!"

A chorus of "Yes Ma'am's" and yet more cheering greeting that announcement, even as the crowd began to disperse to their duties. From her elevated vantage point Melissa looked down and smiled in satisfaction at the company that at this point, was effectively hers. Movement caused her to look down into the Hellbringer's view port. She called a passing sergeant over.

"Sergeant, collect a prisoner escort. This Clanner's not dead."


End file.
